


Phoenix Rising

by Metal_Ox137



Series: The New Mutants [3]
Category: New Mutants (Comics), The New Mutants (2020)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Ox137/pseuds/Metal_Ox137
Summary: Episode 3 of The New Mutants seriesMissing and presumed dead for almost ten years, Jean Grey returns to the school that was once her home.
Relationships: Danielle Moonstar/Rahne Sinclair, Jean Grey/Scott Summers, Roberto da Costa/Illyana Rasputin
Series: The New Mutants [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037208
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

_For Sophie_

The living room at the annex for Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was a natural gathering place. It was not only the largest room in the house, it was also a warm, welcoming, well-lit space, easily adaptable to almost any setting. It served as game room, reading room, movie theater, second dining room, primary classroom and lecture hall - to name just a few. And with the onset of winter, there was often a roaring fire in the fireplace to beat back the chill, making gatherings there - formal and informal - even more likely.

With yet another winter storm on its way, the novelty of snow had momentarily lost its appeal. Everyone having to perpetually dig themselves out of snowstorm after snowstorm didn’t help. On this particular winter afternoon, with classes completed for the day, most of the students remained in the living room to just unwind. Dani Moonstar lay languidly across one of the long couches, thumbing through the pages of her latest textbook, not really reading it, but surveying all the class material that lay ahead. Roberto da Costa, Sam Guthrie and Rahne Sinclair were gathered around the small, round bar table in the far corner of the room, and at the moment, Sam and Rahne were engaged in a surprisingly competitive arm-wrestling contest. Sam was visibly staining, and although Rahne wasn’t as obviously distressed, she was clearly pushing for all she was worth.

“Damn! You’re a lot stronger than you look, Rahne,” Sam grunted, just barely holding the slightest leverage over his much smaller opponent. 

“Come on, Sam, you’re not going to let a girl beat you, are you?” Roberto snorted.

“Hey, you can try her next,” Sam retorted, as Rahne slowly but surely began to bend Sam’s arm back. 

“You’re going down, Sam,” Rahne taunted playfully, but she was clearly out of breath as she said it. 

Dani put her book down and watched them with amusement. “Good luck with that, Sam,” she called out. “Rahne’s much stronger than your average person. Something about that werewolf body of hers.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Sam gasped, at this point barely hanging on. 

A few moments later, the contest was over. Rahne decisively slammed Sam’s arm to the tabletop, then lifted both arms in a whoop of triumph. “I win!”

Sam gingerly massaged his aching wrist. But he was grinning broadly. “Honestly, Rahne, you should be our secret weapon,” he declared. “Nobody would look at you and think you could out-wrestle a quart of ladybugs.”

“We could try your other arm,” Rahne challenged playfully, holding out her left hand.

Sam shook his head, still grinning. “Naw, I’ll pass. Only been a month since I got the cast off. But hey, give me another month for the bones to knit good, and sure, we can try both left and right.”

“How about you, Berto? Want to take me on?” Rahne was obviously flushed with her victory, and ready to take on all comers.

“Absolutely,” Roberto declared, trading seats with Sam. “Of course, now you’re up against a _real_ opponent.”

“Sure about that, are you?” Rahne grinned.

“Hey, I could easily bench-press six of you,” Roberto taunted. “That scrawny little arm of yours is gonna be _no_ problem at all.”

“Those are gonna be famous last words, buddy,” Sam warned him. 

Illyana Rasputin and Amara Aquilla, the other two students at the annex, came down the stairs and into the living room, having decided to change into less formal attire after the last class of the day. Amara was wearing a hoodie and sweat pants, but Illyana had decided on jeans and a sleeveless black top that bared her midriff, as well as the bright, angry pink scars that ran across her belly - the deep and ugly claw marks left by a fully grown bear. 

Dani didn’t wince, but she obviously had made some sort of involuntary moue of distaste, because Illyana smiled reassuringly at her. 

“Yeah. I am showing off, a little,” she admitted. “I decided I like me with some battle scars. They’re kinda sexy.”

“I really nailed you, didn’t I?” Dani sighed sadly.

“I hope they never go away,” Illyana declared. “They really give me that whole ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe. Makes me feel like a total badass.”

“I’m not sure I agree - but I’m really glad you’re okay with it.” Dani rolled up her sleeve and regarded the ugly, crooked scar running along her forearm. “Mine’s not nearly as sexy as yours,” she decided. “Think I’ll keep it, though. Like I have any choice.”

“Hey,” Illyana said, sitting on the low coffee table next to Dani and taking her hand. “Nobody gets through life without acquiring a few scars. Right? All I know is, I’d much rather get them from the people I love.”

She squeezed Dani’s hand tightly, and Dani gave her a grateful smile. 

“And, besides,” Illyana added, in a stage whisper so the entire room would hear, “Berto thinks they’re sexy, too. He likes to kiss them.”

“Illy!” Roberto exclaimed in agitation. “There’s no truth circle right now!”

“The circle of truth is always with us,” Illyana laughed, getting up and walking over to the bar table. “So, what’s going on over here?”

“Rahne is about to kick Berto’s ass in arm-wrestling,” Sam told her. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Oh, really?” Illyana stepped up behind Roberto’s barstool and gave him a quick hug. “Berto, why didn’t you tell me you like to wrestle?” she purred. “I can kick your ass, too, you know. I’ll be happy to show you.”

“Don’t disturb his concentration, Illy,” Amara suggested with a smile. “Otherwise, when he loses, he’ll say it wasn’t a fair fight.”

“You’re all so sure I’ll lose,” Roberto ruffed indignantly.

“Only one way to find out,” Rahne challenged, offering her arm. “Come on, Berto. Show me what you got.”

“I’ll try not to humiliate you,” Roberto sighed, clasping her outstretched hand. “Maybe I’ll just use half-strength. No, quarter-strength,” he amended. “At least make it _look_ like a fair fight.”

Sam groaned in dismay. “Berto, you’re not... oh, never mind. Get it over with. Go easy on him, Rahne.”

Dani joined her friends around the table. “Sorry, Berto,” she apologized. “But I gotta root for my girlfriend. Nothing personal.”

“Is nobody rooting for me?” Roberto groaned.

“I am,” Illyana assured him. “You’re going to lose. But I’m still rooting for you.” To soften the blow to Roberto’s pride, she left an affectionate kiss on his cheek. 

“When you’re ready, Berto,” Rahne said quietly, staring into his eyes.

“Count us down, somebody,” Roberto suggested.

“Three, two, one... go!” Amara shouted.

Roberto was instantly chagrined to discover that not only did he need to use his full strength, holding nothing back, but even that might not be enough. Rahne gritted her teeth and bore down as hard as she could. The other students began cheering them on. The contest was incredibly fierce, and while Roberto did have the superior arm strength, Rahne countered with an incredible intensity of will - the single-minded determination of a wolf on the hunt. 

Their arms bent forward, then back, then forward again, like a pendulum swinging in slow motion. After two minutes, both Rahne and Roberto were obviously straining and perspiring freely. Well into the fourth minute, Rahne finally found just enough leverage to turn the battle in her favor, and after few more pain-wracked moments, she slammed Roberto’s arm triumphantly on the table. 

“The winner, and still champion!” Dani crowed. “Rahne Sinclair!”

Rahne immediately got up from her seat, and bestowed a sweat-soaked hug on her vanquished foe. “That was sweet of you, to let me win,” she declared in a loud voice, so everyone would hear. 

“Well, it was only gentlemanly thing to do,” Roberto mumbled. 

Rahne gave Roberto another hug, followed by a quick kiss, obviously intended to soothe over any hurt feelings. He smiled at her with genuine affection.

“I’m good,” he promised. “Really. But thanks, Rahne.”

“We do appreciate you being so tolerant, Berto,” Dani said. “Letting all us women beat on you, and gang up on you, all the time.”

Roberto grinned at her. “Hey, I’ve always said, I’m the luckiest guy on Earth. I’m living in a house with four of the most beautiful women on the planet, who just also happen to be total badasses. How could that possibly be bad? I couldn’t have picked a better life for myself if I tried.”

Dani started to reply, when suddenly Doctor Moira MacTaggert’s voice could be heard elsewhere in the house. She was almost screaming. 

“Hank? _Hank?!”_

The students all looked at one another. 

“Something’s wrong,” Sam muttered. 

As the students rushed to the front of the house, they could see that the door was open, and Doctor MacTaggert was standing just outside, staring up into the sky. 

“Hank!” she shrieked. And it _was_ a shriek she made, a cry of absolute terror. 

Doctor Hank McCoy came running down the stairs, alarmed at Moira’s cries. The students gave him room to step out onto the front porch first, and then crowded around behind their two teachers. 

“Moira, what is it? What’s -”

Moira’s only answer was to point up into the sky. Hank inclined his head, and looked where she was pointing. 

“Oh, my stars and garters,” he said, in a barely audible voice. 

The students stared at their professor in amazement. It was difficult to tell under all that fur, but Hank McCoy had gone pale - white as a sheet. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost.

The students all cast their eyes upwards. In the darkening sky, thousands of feet above them still, the air itself appeared to be aflame - and the flames took the shape of a giant bird.

“What _is_ that?” Dani whispered.

Nobody answered. Everyone stood transfixed, watching as the flame-entity descended rapidly, lower and lower, coming ever closer - but also changing direction, pushing off towards the east. 

“She’s headed for the mansion,” Hank said grimly. 

The students all looked at each other in utter bewilderment. _She?_

“Professor, what _is_ that?” Sam asked, repeating Dani’s question. 

Hank McCoy didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Illyana. “Illy, I need you to ‘port me and Doctor MacTaggert over to the mansion, right now.”

“Yes, professor.” Illyana nodded.

“And then I want you to ‘port straight back here.” He looked at all of his students. “I want all of you to stay here, inside the house, until I tell you otherwise. Do not leave the house for any reason. Understood?”

Without waiting for an answer, Hank grabbed Moira’s hand, and together they stepped into the bright circle of light that Illyana was creating, one of her “stepping discs”. The three of them instantly vanished. 

The other students looked at each other in total confusion.

“Anybody have any idea what’s going on?” Sam asked. 

They looked up into the sky again. The flame-bird, whatever it was, was dipping below their line of sight, obscured by the line of trees to the east. Even as it disappeared from view, the bright glow from its contrail was still plainly visible. 

Illyana reappeared a moment later, and looked at them scornfully. 

“What is the _matter_ with you people?” she scolded them. “Come on! Grab your coats and hats! Go! Go! Go!”

“Illy, the professor told us to stay here,” Roberto objected.

“Yeah, so?”

“Shouldn’t we do as he told us?” Amara asked. 

“Guys, I’m not going to just _sit_ here while whatever’s happening takes place at the mansion without us,” Illyana barked. “Are you coming, or not?”

There was a flurry of activity at the front door as everyone scrambled for their coats, hats and boots. Dani joined Illyana on the porch, hastily shrugging herself into her long coat. “This is definitely a doghouse offense. You know that, right?”

“I haven’t been in the doghouse for an entire week,” Illyana retorted. “I miss it.”

Dani could only shake her head and grin at her friend. “I can’t protect you this time, Rasputin. It’s your neck on the block.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take my chances.”

Everyone quickly gathered on the porch. Amara carefully shut the front door behind them, and when everyone was huddled together, Illyana conjured a stepping disc large enough to carry them all. 

A moment later, they found themselves on the back patio of the mansion. Almost all of the students were peering out from the windows, while most of the faculty and staff were standing outside, staring incredulously at the apparition that was descending upon them. Charles Xavier wheeled his chair out in front of everyone. 

The light coming from the entity was blinding, but as its feet - for apparently it had feet - touched the ground, the light began to dim rapidly. After a few moments, it no longer hurt to look. The figure was a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, perhaps some twenty-five years of age, wearing a skintight bodysuit of green and gold, with a gold sash tied around the waist. She had long, flame-red hair, which actually appeared to be on fire, but the flames slowly died away - yet her hair lost none of its radiant glow. Her whole body seemed to radiate light. Slowly, even that glow began to fade, and as it did so, the woman’s wardrobe seemed to shift and change as if it were somehow made of water. As the glow dissipated entirely, the young woman was now wearing jeans, a light blouse, suede boots and a long grey sweater coat. She began to walk down the hill towards the house, carefully picking her way through the snow. 

Charles Xavier rolled his chair a little closer, an incredulous look upon his face. He spoke one word, and that word was almost a groan - but whether that groan was one of dread, or terror, or great joy, it was impossible to tell which.

“Jean.”

The young woman stopped a few feet away from Xavier. She was smiling, but there were tears welling in her eyes. 

“Hello, Charles,” she said, in a soft voice taut with emotion. “I’ve come home.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jean Grey stood at the edge of the back patio of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, feeling like she had just dropped herself into the middle of an old-style western shootout. No one moved towards her. No one even smiled. They just stared at her, most of them incredulously, some with open hostility. Of all the possible reactions to her sudden reappearance, this was the one she had least expected.

Jean did a quick, discreet telepathic sweep of the school. Most of the students had no idea who she was. They had just seen her drop out of the sky, cocooned in her Phoenix aura, and they were intrigued, even a little awed. But anyone who actually knew who she was... anyone who had ever heard of her, or the older faculty members who knew her from when she was a student at Xavier’s... these people were not just apprehensive. They were frightened. Even the people who once loved her dearly, like Charles, Sean, Moira, Ororo - the least of what they felt for her was apprehension and wariness. And most of the rest was much, much worse.

She was not welcome. She was not wanted. And they were terrified of her. 

Jean’s mouth fell open in dismay. She began to wonder if returning home had been a horrible mistake. But there was something else, someone missing, someone important.

“Is... is Scott here?”

Jean couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. 

Charles Xavier stared up at her, still obviously dumbstruck. 

“Scott’s gone,” he managed to answer at last. “He left the school. He thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead.”

“Oh.” Jean took that news like a blow to the face. The one person who might be happy to see her wasn’t here. She took a hesitant half-step forward. “May I...”

Charles Xavier turned his wheelchair sharply to one side. Jean was still several paces away, but he was declaring his intention to block her entry into the school.

“I’m sorry, Jean,” he said in a strangled voice. “You can’t come in.”

Jean looked at Charles for a long moment, still shocked at how old he looked. And his refusal... he was trying protect his students against an imminent threat. Trying to protect them - from her. She felt grief piling upon grief piling upon grief.

“But I came _home,”_ she said, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.

Xavier didn’t budge. Jean didn’t need to read his mind to know this was tearing him up inside. But he was resolute. 

“You can’t stay here,” he declared. “You need to leave.”

Jean stood there for a moment, floundering, helpless. Her family was casting her out. Where else had she to go?

Hank stepped forward.

“She can stay with us.”

“Hank, _no,”_ Moira hissed in a horrified whisper. 

Hank turned to Charles. “Jean can stay with us. At the annex.”

Charles Xavier seemed utterly dumbfounded by Hank’s suggestion. He was obviously trying to think of some way to categorically reject the idea, so Hank cut him off.

“You gave me full authority over anything to do with the annex,” he reminded him. “And final say in its operation... and who gets admitted.”

Xavier actually squirmed in his chair. “Henry, this is not a good idea.”

“Let her stay the night,” Hank pleaded. “One night. Tomorrow, when we’ve all recovered from the shock... or at least _tried_ to... we’ll see what we can do about sorting this all out.”

Xavier obviously didn’t agree, but neither did he have a countering argument. Jean’s sudden reappearance had shaken him to his core.

Hank turned to Jean. “You can stay with us.”

Jean could barely see him for the tears streaming down her face. Hank McCoy was the one person in all the world who had more cause to hate her than anyone. And yet, he was the one person holding out his hand to her, offering her shelter, succor, perhaps even friendship. She had nowhere else to go. Her family didn’t want her. Heartbroken, she silently nodded her agreement. 

Hank turned to Moira. Her face was blanched with terror.

“Hank, don’t _do_ this,” she pleaded.

Somehow, he managed to find a reassuring smile for her. “It’s going to be all right,” he told her. “If you and Sean would like to stay at the mansion tonight, I’m sure Charles can find a spare room for you. Jean can spend the night with us.”

“Hank...”

“She won’t harm the children. She won’t,” he said quietly.

Moira looked up at him, her eyes filling with frightened tears. “How can you be so sure?”

“Just look at her, Moira. She’s lost. And alone. And scared. She’s more scared than we are. She doesn’t want trouble.”

“We don’t know what she is,” Moira hissed.

“No, but we know _who_ she is,” Hank countered. “Look at her. That’s not an inhuman cosmic monster standing there. That’s really Jean. I don’t know how, but the how doesn’t really matter. That’s Jean, the Jean we remember. And the Jean we remember wouldn’t harm any of us.”

“Not intentionally,” Moira said in a barely audible voice. 

Hank gave her a reassuring hug. “Stay here tonight,” he suggested. “And in the morning, you’ll see. The annex will still be there, I’ll still be there, the children will still be there. All of us. Safe and well. And then, we’ll sort this thing out. Together. I promise you. It’s going to be okay.”

Moira clearly didn’t think any better of Hank’s plan than Charles did, but she capitulated with a brief nod of the head. 

With a sigh of relief, Hank started to turn back, but then caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned on his heel to see all of his students standing in a loose cluster a few feet away from him. His face darkened with genuine anger. 

“What are you doing here? I told all of you to stay at the house,” he snarled, coming up to them.

“We’re sorry, Professor,” Dani began. “We thought...”

“Never mind what you thought,” Hank cut her off sharply. “Illyana, prepare a stepping disc. We’re going back to the annex.”

Sensing Hank’s deep anger, Illyana wordlessly created a new disc as requested. Hank turned to Jean and held out his hand to her. 

“Come on,” he coaxed her. “We can come back later. When everyone’s recovered from seeing you back from the dead, that is.”

Hesitantly, Jean came forward and huddled together with the other annex students.

Hank turned to Charles. “Charles, I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”

Xavier nodded numbly, still clearly in shock. 

Hank turned to Illyana. “Let’s go home.”

Illyana closed the disc, and she, all her fellow students, Hank and Jean vanished from sight.

A few moments later, as soon as everyone had arrived in the entryway of the annex, Hank McCoy turned on his students.

“I am absolutely furious with all of you,” he snapped. “And very, very disappointed. I gave very explicit instructions for you to stay here. I expected better from you. Get your coats off, and go to your rooms. And _stay_ there. You’re all in time-out until further notice. If you insist on behaving like children, then I’ll treat you as such.”

There were audible groans of dismay, but no protests. The students began to remove their hats and coats and return them to the pegs on the wall. 

“Illyana, not you,” Hank said, as Illyana got ready to go upstairs. “Library. Now.”

Dani and Illyana exchanged a furtive glance. “Doghouse,” they muttered to each other, but then Illyana went promptly into the library as asked, and the other students headed upstairs to their rooms.

Hank turned to Jean. “Have a seat in the kitchen,” he invited her. “Make yourself comfortable. And please pardon me for just a moment. Obligatory parental scolding is needed. I’ll be right back.”

“Of course,” Jean nodded.

Hank entered the library, and closed the doors behind him. Illyana simply stood there waiting. Normally, she would already be wailing and protesting her innocence, but this time, she waited meekly for her rebuke.

“Illyana, I’m most disappointed in you. I know you instigated this. And don’t bother trying to deny it.”

Illyana shook her head. “No, sir.”

“You ask me to trust you. This is why I don’t. When I give instructions like those, I have very valid reasons for doing so. There are certain times - not all times - when I need you to do exactly as I tell you. Without back talk, with protest, and especially, without sneaking around behind my back.”

Illyana nodded. “I understand.”

“I really don’t think you do. We’ll discuss an appropriate punishment for you later. Frankly, I’m losing patience with you, Illyana. You are the student who’s been here the longest. You should be setting the example. Instead, you’re the student I have to reprimand the most. You keep saying you want to be trusted with more responsibility. But when you keep pulling stunts like these... well, this is the worst possible way to go about proving that trust.”

As Hank stood there fuming, Illyana swallowed hard.

“Professor... can I say something?”

Hank nodded. “Of course.”

“We thought... we all thought... you might be in some kind of trouble,” Illyana said quietly. “We only wanted to help.”

Hank regarded her thoughtfully. Her contrition seemed genuine. Then again, it often did.

“You need to leave those decisions to me, Illyana. They’re not for you to make.”

“Yes, sir.”

“For now, go back to your room. And I expect you to _stay_ there, until I can decide what to do with you. You’re dismissed.”

Illyana looked at him in dismay. The professor really did seem like he was ready to wash his hands of her. 

She headed for the door, then stopped, and turned back. “For the record? I don’t want to be your bad student either, Professor. I really don’t. You know that before I got here, I was way worse than this. I don’t always make the right choices. I know that. But I don’t stay here because anybody forces me to. I stay here because I want your help.”

“You’re going to have to start proving that to me, Illyana.”

Illyana nodded miserably, then turned and left the room, running tearfully for the stairs. 

Sighing heavily, Hank waited a moment to let his own anger simmer down. There was a far more pressing issue waiting for him in the kitchen - and he had no idea how he was going to deal with it. 

At length, he straightened himself up, and returned to the kitchen. Jean was sitting in one of the chairs at the long dining table, staring out the window at the broken expanse of snow. She looked up as Hank entered and offered a flicker of a smile. She had obviously been crying the entire time Hank had been in the library with Illyana. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were still wet.

“Poor kid. She’s terrified she’s going to get expelled.”

“Good,” Hank harrumphed. “Maybe that will finally motivate her.”

“She spent all her childhood years in the hands of demons, Hank. She might need a little more leeway than most of your other students.”

Hank gave Jean a sour stare. “Are you reading minds without permission?”

“I have all my telepathic shields up,” she assured him. “But I keep telling you, sometimes you people think so hard, practically shouting in your own heads, you might as well be using a megaphone. It’s really hard to keep stuff out.”

“I remember. You always used to tell me that,” Hank nodded, with a faint smile.

“Well, it was true then, and it’s still true now. Your own head is still buzzing like a beehive. I’m really having to concentrate, to keep your thoughts away.”

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I realize I’m the cause of most of it.”

“Honestly, Jean, right now, I don’t know what to think. Or even what to do.”

“I’m not here to hurt anyone, Hank,” Jean said quietly. “I think you know that, or you wouldn’t have brought me here.”

“No. I’m just trying to get over the shock of seeing you here.”

“I didn’t want to leave. Not like I did. But I had no control over my powers then. I couldn’t stay here. I would have caused even more damage if I had.”

“But you have full control over your powers now?”

Jean sighed. “Yes, Hank. I have complete and total control over my powers. Any manifestation that happens now is because I consciously direct it to.”

“Well, now that you’re here...” he looked at her and sighed. “I suppose I should start with the usual things, like, hello, how are you, it’s nice to see you.”

Jean choked back a sob. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”

“At the moment, I’m not sure what’s true and what’s not.”

Jean discreetly wiped her eyes. “I guess I expected this reunion to be awkward. But I really didn’t think everyone would want to drive me away with pitchforks and torches.”

“You mustn’t blame them, Jean. They’re all in shock. Hell, so am I. We really thought you were dead.”

“Not to mention that the last time anyone saw me, I was leaving a trail of dead bodies in my wake. You know. Minor details like that.”

Hank held up a hand. “Let’s... not go there, just yet,” he said. “I’m not ready for that conversation. I don’t think you are, either.” He looked around the kitchen helplessly. “Can I offer you anything to eat? Or drink? Do you even eat or drink any more?”

“Yeah. Sure. I mean, I really don’t need to eat or drink anything, I can just absorb the energy I need from what’s around me...”

Realizing she was rambling, she called herself to a halt. She managed to find a smile. “Tea. A pot of tea,” she suggested. “Anything you have. That would be great.”

“A pot of tea, that, I can manage,” Hank agreed, and went rummaging in the cupboard for the tea boxes.

For the next few minutes, there was no sound at all in the kitchen, save for Hank’s inexpert tea preparation. But they both felt relief at an activity that seemed so reassuringly normal.

“Thank you,” Jean said quietly. 

Hank looked up from the tea kettle he was paying far too much attention to. “For what?”

“For letting me stay.”

Hank managed a shrug, although it was a sad, resigned sort of shrug. “What’s the old saying? ‘Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.’ That was Robert Frost. I think.”

“I thought Xavier’s was my home,” Jean said brokenly. “I guess I was wrong.”

Hank didn’t answer; he had no answer to give. The water had finally reached the boiling point, and Hank took the whistling kettle off the stove burner. 

Jean let out a ragged sigh. “I would think of all people, you’d be the last person who wanted to see me. Or help me.”

Hank finished pouring the hot water into the teapot, and carefully set the kettle on a back burner before answering. 

“Jean... I realize there are a lot of things you want to talk about,” he said. “A lot of things you need to say. I can’t do that right now. I can’t. Please, give me some time to recover from the shock of just seeing you sitting at my kitchen table.”

Jean nodded. “Fair enough. So what do we talk about, in the meantime?”

“Anything else.”

Hank came to the table with the tea tray, and carefully poured a cup for Jean, before pouring a cup of his own. Jean couldn’t help smiling.

“What?” Hank asked.

“You. This. You’re so formal. It’s like we’re at yum cha, or something.”

Hank snorted. “I have never dined with the emperor. Or taken high tea with him.”

“No, no, it’s perfect. It’s so you.” She took the proffered cup. “Thank you.”

She took a long sip, and stared into his face, eyes shining. 

Hank took a sip of his own tea, self-consciously, and then forced himself to smile at her. “I imagine I must look... somewhat different.”

“You’re older,” Jean allowed. “A little heavier. But... you look good, Hank. You look like you’ve arrived at the age that suits you best.”

“Thanks. You, on the other hand, haven’t aged a day. And I mean that literally.”

“I haven’t been gone _that_ long,” Jean said. “At least... I didn’t think I was gone that long. But seeing Charles, seeing you...” 

Her voice faltered. “I guess a lot more time has passed here on Earth than I thought.”

Hank frowned. “So, you haven’t been on Earth, then.”

Jean managed a faint smile. “No. I’ve been... well, all over, I guess.”

“Where, for instance?”

Jean frowned in thought for a moment. “Do you remember those old posters they used to have, one of those early photographs of a spiral galaxy, and they stamped a little ‘You are here’ sign in the corner of one of the arms?”

Hank grinned. “I used to have one of those hanging in my dorm room.”

“Well... say we are where that little sign was. I’ve been, roughly, about halfway up that arm of the galaxy, and then back again.”

Hank looked at her skeptically. “That’s thousands of light years you’re talking about. Maybe tens of thousands.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“And you just traveled all that distance. By yourself.”

Jean shrugged. “Yeah.”

“That’s... not possible.”

“Oh, come _on,_ Hank. After all we’ve seen? _That’s_ your reaction?”

“Jean, in order to travel those kinds of distances, you’d need to fold space. Or open a wormhole. Or something.”

“Yeah,” Jean nodded. “That’s exactly what I did.”

Hank set his cup down. “You can seriously create your own wormholes.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s a wormhole, exactly, but yes, I can take... Shortcuts, I guess you’d call them.”

“One hell of a shortcut,” Hank murmured. 

“It’s kind of a cool way to travel, once you get the hang of it.”

“I can only imagine. And no spacesuit?”

Jean shrugged. “I don’t need one.”

“That must be... helpful.”

“Excuse me, Professor?” Sam Guthrie peeked around the doorway. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to intrude. Roberto and I were wondering if you still wanted us to start dinner at the usual time.”

Hank glanced up at the wall clock. It was far later than he realized. He sighed.

“Yes, Sam. Please. Moira and Sean are staying at the mansion tonight. It’s just us and our... guest. And tell the other students that the time-out is over. They’re free to move about the house, if they wish.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam turned and headed back towards the stairs.

Hank smiled at Jean. “Sorry. Our private conversation is about to get a lot less private.”

“That’s all right. I’d like to meet your students. These are _your_ students? Not students at Xavier’s?”

Hank made a face. “Technically, yes, they’re all students at Xavier’s. The annex is for the special needs students.”

“Special needs,” Jean repeated dubiously. “Granted, I’ve only seen them for a few seconds, but they seem like perfectly normal kids to me. Maybe even a little better behaved than we were, at the same age.” Her smile evaporated. “Moira’s afraid of me.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“Will she? I’m beginning to think I’ve made a terrible mistake. I should never have come back.”

“Why _did_ you come back, Jean?”

Jean pursed her lips, considering her reply. “Hank... do you know where Scott is?”

Hank nodded. “Yes. And I was planning to call him after dinner, and let him know that you’re alive, and that you’re here.”

Jean sighed with obvious relief. “Thank you.”

“But as for the rest, I think you should leave that up to him.”

“You mean... he may not want to see me.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll want to see you. But it’s been years since anyone’s heard from you. I’m just not sure what kind of reunion you might be having.”

Jean nodded sadly. “Yeah. I suppose I should have expected that.”

She took up her teacup again, taking a long sip, fresh tears welling in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, who is Firebird Girl, anyway?”

Illyana Rasputin and Roberto da Costa were sitting together in Illyana’s room, talking over the strange events of that afternoon. Normally, they would have retired to Roberto’s room, but since Professor McCoy had called Illyana out for disobeying his orders, they decided not to aggravate the situation further, and Illyana stayed in her own room, with the door open.

“You heard the Professor,” Illyana shrugged. “He called her ‘Jean’. That’s all I know. And obviously, all the X-Men know who she is.”

“Yeah, but they didn’t exactly seem pleased to see her. But they didn’t fight her, or try to put her in cuffs, either. Do you think she’s one of the bad guys?”

Illyana snorted. “We’re all bad guys, Berto. Haven’t you heard?”

“I dunno, she almost seemed scared. But anybody who can fly and make a firebird like that, wow. Who could be scared when you have powers like those? You suppose that’s the only thing she can do?”

“Well, she’s staying the night, so I guess we’ll get a chance to ask her.”

“That whole standoff at the mansion was just completely weird. I’ve never seen Professor Xavier act like that before. Or any of the other X-Men, for that matter. Even Doctor MacTaggert was totally freaked.”

“It was weird,” Illyana agreed. 

“So what do you think was going on there?”

“Berto, how should I know? There’s obviously some bad history between them. But we’ll probably never know what it is.”

Roberto sighed. Illyana was probably right. He changed the subject. 

“What did the Professor say to you?”

“Oh. The usual. But he was really upset this time. For a minute there, I thought he was actually going to kick me out of school.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t he? I don’t know, Berto. I really don’t want to get thrown out of here. But I’m starting to feel like this is my last chance. I wish I knew what to say or do, to make him not hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Illy. But you do kinda go off and do your own thing a lot. The Professor’s the headmaster of the school. He’s all about keeping law and order around here. That’s his job.”

Illyana made a face. “That shit’s so boring, though.”

“So, be bored for a little while. What will it kill you?” Roberto rubbed his palm gently over the scars on Illy’s stomach. “Be smart about this. You want a good relationship with the Professor. So stop breaking all the rules just for the sake of breaking them. You want to reserve that for when you really need it.”

“Well, that’s just it, Berto. Maybe today was a false alarm, but for a minute there, it really seemed like the Professor and Doctor MacTaggert might have needed our help.”

“So tell him that.”

“I tried. He said those were his decisions to make.”

Sam came to the doorway. “Hey, guys. We’re up for parole.”

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Illyana said, genuinely surprised. 

“The Professor wants everybody downstairs for a couple of minutes to meet the new girl.”

“Does that mean she’s staying?” Roberto asked, sitting up. 

Sam shrugged. “You got me. Come on downstairs, and in a couple of minutes we’ll all know what’s going on.”

A few minutes later, everyone had gathered in the living room, and Hank brought Jean in to meet them all. 

“Everyone, this is Jean,” Hank announced. “She’s going to be staying with us for a few days. Please make her feel welcome, show her around, and help her out if she needs anything. Jean, this is Rahne, Dani, Amara, Sam, Roberto and Illy.”

Jean shyly waved a hand in greeting. “Hey, you guys. It’s nice to meet you all.”

There was a friendly murmur of greeting all around the room.

“Are you going to be a new student here, Jean?” Dani asked excitedly.

Jean floundered. “Oh... uh...”

“Jean’s a guest, not a student,” Hank clarified. “And I must ask, at least for now, please don’t pepper her with the usual load of personal questions. Respect her privacy, as you would like to have your own privacy respected.”

“Can we at least ask about your powers?” Roberto said. “That firebird thing you did, that was pretty amazing.”

Jean smiled, almost bashfully. “Yeah. That was just me showing off,” she demurred. “I’m telekinetic. I can move things with my mind. If you guys want to show me where the plates and silverware are, I can demonstrate by setting the table for dinner. That is... if you don’t mind... Professor,” she said, addressing Hank. 

“That’s fine. Just don’t let the students pressure you into anything you don’t want to do. Dani, would you mind showing Jean to the guest room upstairs?”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

“Sure, Professor. Follow me, Jean.”

Dani led Jean up the stairwell and opened the first door on the right side of the hallway. 

“This is it,” she said, giving room for Jean to enter. “You’ve got a private bathroom through that little door, and it should have all the toiletries you could need - soap, shampoo, razors, toothbrushes, stuff like that. If you need anything that isn’t in there, just ask.”

Jean smiled at her. “I’m sure this will be fine, Dani, thank you.”

“Look... the Professor said not to ask you any questions. But I couldn’t help noticing, you’ve obviously been crying, and... whatever’s going on is none of my business, I just wanted to know if there’s anything we can do for you. Anything that might make you feel better.”

“Oh! No, it’s nothing you can help with. But thank you, for asking.”

“If you need anything, anything at all, ask any one of us. We’ll be happy to help.”

“I appreciate that, very much.”

“Okay. We’re probably going to start dinner soon, and you’re more than welcome to hang out in the kitchen and chat with us. If you’d rather be alone, that’s okay, too, we can someone come get you when dinner is ready.”

“I think I might lay down for a few minutes, actually,” Jean said. “I have been traveling quite a long way.”

“All right. Then I’ll leave you be. The house rule is, if your door is closed, nobody will disturb you. If the door’s open, it’s assumed guests are welcome and everybody comes barging in.”

“Good to know. Thanks.”

“See ya later.” Dani stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. 

“This is definitely a job for the Therapy Wolf,” she told herself.

* * * 

Dinner was a rather subdued affair. Sean and Moira were conspicuous by their absence, and the students were all uncharacteristically muted after their group tongue-lashing earlier in the day. Jean did come down to dinner, and made some desultory small talk during the meal, but it was obvious her heart wasn’t in it. 

It was shortly after dinner when Hank took Jean aside. 

“I thought I would try giving Scott a call,” he said quietly. “I was wondering if you wanted to speak to him, or wait and see what his reaction is to the news.”

“I’d like to see him,” Jean nodded.

“I thought you might. We can borrow the computer in Doctor MacTaggert’s office for a video call.”

They stepped into the small office and Hank shut the door behind them. Before he could seat himself at the desk, Jean caught his hand.

“Hank... why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Helping me.”

Hank stared at the floor for a long moment. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“For God’s sake, Hank, _stop_ it!”

“Stop what?”

“This - this ridiculous play-acting! Being civil and polite to me, when all you want to do is scream at me. I can _hear_ it in your head, Hank!”

“Jean, please,” Hank moaned. “Just stop...”

“I murdered the woman you loved!”

Hank collapsed into the nearest chair as if he’d been struck, and dropped his head into his hands. He didn’t speak for a very long time. 

“I told you, I wasn’t ready for this conversation,” he said hoarsely.

Jean was near tears. “I just want to know why you, of all people, is sheltering me, when Charles Xavier wouldn’t. How can you even stand to _look_ at me?”

Hank sighed heavily, and straightened in his chair. His face was wet with tears. “It’s a pretty simple calculus, really. It’s what Raven would have wanted.”

“Raven would have wanted you to protect her murderer.”

“You didn’t murder her,” Hank said, anguished. “It was an accident. I was there too, remember? I _saw_ what happened - and I saw the look of horror on your face. You didn’t mean for that to happen, in any way, shape or form. You loved Raven like a sister. I know that. I know how much you looked up to her. And you didn’t ask for what happened to you aboard the space shuttle. None of this was your fault, Jean.”

“I couldn’t control my powers. That makes it my fault.”

“Not when you’re being invaded by an alien space organism, it isn’t.” He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his glasses. “I’m assuming you’re still infected with this thing, whatever it is.”

“No,” Jean said in a barely audible voice. 

“No?” Hank looked up in surprise. 

“That entity - whatever it was - it was dying. I absorbed most of its energy, but when it got close to the end, I realized... I had to come home.”

“So _that’s_ why you returned to Earth,” Hank said. “You can’t travel in space any more. Not without your symbiont.” 

“Yes.”

“Otherwise, you would have just kept running.”

“Probably,” Jean admitted.

“So, what, it’s dead, and you’re just Jean Grey again?”

“My telekinetic and telepathic abilities are still... turbo-charged, I guess you could say. A lingering benefit from the organism invading my body. I’m stronger than I ever would have been, by myself. But I have nowhere near the powers I used to have. For a while there, I was like Proteus - I could warp reality itself. Now, I’m just a very powerful psychic and telekinetic. And, like any other human, I can’t travel in space, not unless I’m in a spacecraft of some kind.”

“Just another merely super-powered mutant, huh?”

“I want to be human again, Hank. You have no idea how much I want that. I can never be normal, but... at least I can still live out the rest of my life as a human woman. I was never expecting that to happen to me. Not after the shuttle accident.”

Hank sighed deeply. He was obviously struggling to find the words he wanted. 

“I can’t even begin to appreciate what a nightmare your life has been since that day,” he said quietly. “I _do_ know, that Jean Grey would never intentionally hurt another living soul, ever. You’re right. I haven’t been able to find a way to forgive you yet. But it isn’t because I hate you, or because I see you as some sort of monster. It’s because I still feel the pain of that day. Watching her die. I can’t get past it. I see it, every day. You were sick, Jean - invaded by a hostile organism. I know that. I am hoping...” he stopped for a moment, to draw in a deep breath. “I am hoping that if I help you on this path, getting you back to a life where maybe one day you can find joy, or at least forgiveness... I might find it for myself. I think Raven would be very happy, if we both found that.”

“Hank, I am so sorry for what happened,” Jean sobbed. “I know sorry doesn’t help. But I don’t know what else to do.”

Hank leaned over the desk, found a box of facial tissues, and handed it to her. 

“What we do, is we call Scott, see if he still wants you. My money says, he does.” Hank had gone almost completely hoarse by this point, his voice was little more than a rasp. “We take this a day at a time. Rebuild our lives. And hopefully, one day soon, we can look at each other, and the pain and the guilt will be gone. I can’t promise you that happens. But I think it’s worth trying. It sure as hell is a better shot than doing nothing.”

“I’m still responsible for the deaths of several police officers and military personnel. I don’t think I’m going to get a free pass for that.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, too. Maybe the answer is right here.”

Jean gave him a bewildered shake of her head, not understanding. 

“Stay here. You and Scott. At the annex.”

“We’re a bit old to be students,” Jean said dubiously.

“Not as students. As teachers.”

“As...” Jean’s mouth fell open in surprise. She momentarily forgot her tears. 

“No one outside of Xavier’s even knows you’re back on Earth. And I’m sure that with a little persuasion, we can keep that secret in the family.”

“Hank...”

“Well, the alternative is to spend a decade or more in the courts, trying to convince the world that a super-powered mutant experienced a psychotic break while being attacked by an alien organism. As Dani might say, some demon bears are best left sleeping.”

“Hank, I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s just something to think about,” Hank said, exhaling deeply to sweep away his recent emotion. “That decision is yours. The decision to hire any new faculty is mine. But I would most seriously consider hiring two former X-Men, to work with these students.” He turned on the computer. “Now, why don’t we call up your old boyfriend, and see what he has to say about all this?”


	4. Chapter 4

Jean Grey was sitting on the long couch in the living room, staring at the dying embers of the fire. It was well past midnight, and the only light in the room came from the pale moon, shining in at the window. 

Jean’s thoughts had been in a turmoil all night, and long after everyone else had gone to bed, she had returned to the living room to enjoy the lingering warmth from the fire that was slowly, inexorably smoldering away into cold ash.

She became aware of another presence. She heard and saw nothing, but there was another mind, someone awake, somewhere close by. Whoever it was, they were moving without making any sound. Jean was not expecting any trouble, but just to be certain, she made a swift telepathic scan, and then relaxed. It was just one of the students. 

A few moments later, Rahne Sinclair came into the room, little more than a silhouette in the moonlight. She was in her human form, wearing a set of baggy, oversized pajamas, and a gold crucifix on a delicate necklace that glinted in the pale light. 

“Am I disturbing you?” Rahne asked, keeping her voice low, even though no one was likely to hear. 

“No, not at all.”

“I thought you might like some company. You obviously couldn’t sleep.”

Jean smiled in the darkness. “Well... I rarely sleep any more. Sometimes I still do, out of habit. But my body doesn’t need it.”

Rahne settled herself on the couch across from Jean, sitting up with her legs underneath her, Indian style. “So, what, you’re always awake?”

“Not always. But most of the time. It’s Rahne, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Got a touch of insomnia this evening, Rahne?”

“No, I’m usually up at this hour. I’m not usually human, though.”

Jean frowned in puzzlement. Obviously this was some reference to Rahne’s mutant powers. “Okay... then, what are you? Usually?”

“A wolf.”

“Really,” Jean exclaimed, intrigued. 

“Yeah. So if you ever see a female wolf with a red coat here in the house, or out in the yard, it’s just me.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. I think if I saw a wolf in my room in the middle of the night, I might be a little concerned.”

“I’m the school’s therapy wolf,” Rahne said proudly. 

Jean couldn’t help laughing out loud. “I’m sorry, you’re the what?”

“I’m the therapy wolf. You know. If people get sick, or they’re sad about something, I turn into a wolf and let them pet me. Makes them feel better.”

“Really. I’ve actually heard of therapy animals being used in hospitals. Of course... they normally use dogs.”

“Well... a wolf is kind of a dog,” Rahne said uncertainly. “Sort of. A little bit.”

“It’s close enough,” Jean assured her. 

“Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I know you have been feeling sad. And... I kinda heard you shouting at the Professor in Doctor MacTaggert’s office earlier,” Rahne added shyly. 

“Yeah,” Jean sighed. “I can’t really keep a conversation private if I’m yelling, can I? I’m sorry if we disturbed you.”

“It’s all right. Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do for you?”

Jean shook her head sadly. “No. No... it’s just... I came home today, and I had been gone for a very long time, and when I got home, I found I wasn’t welcome any more. That was a really hard thing to swallow.”

“You lived at Professor Xavier’s house?”

“I was one of his students. Once. A long time ago.”

“Why didn’t they want you?” Rahne seemed bewildered that Charles Xavier might turn anyone away.

Jean made a rueful smile in the darkness. “Because I hurt somebody. Actually, no. I killed somebody,” she corrected herself. “A lot of people, actually. Not on purpose. Well... at least one death was an accident. I’m not so sure about the others.”

“You mean, you lost control of your powers.” 

“Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

“Then... maybe the annex is where you should be. Maybe you should stay here.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because all the students here, they have trouble using their powers, too. And a lot of us have accidentally killed someone, because we couldn’t control them.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“No. I think just me and Berto are the only ones who haven’t. But everyone else here has accidentally killed somebody. Usually, somebody they loved.”

“I know how that feels,” Jean said grimly.

“Well, then, you really _should_ stay here,” Rahne exclaimed. 

Jean shook her head. “I don’t think that would be a very good idea, Rahne.”

“Why not?”

“Because one of the people I killed... was someone that Professor McCoy loved very much.”

“Ohh...” Rahne’s mouth fell open in horror. 

“It was an accident. I know that. And Hank... Professor McCoy... he knows that too. But it’s not something you can ever forget. And it’s a much harder thing to forgive.”

“Maybe,” Rahne said. “But I’m sure if you tell the Professor you’re sorry, he would forgive you.”

Jean chuckled, but there were tears welling in her eyes. “You have an unshakable faith in the goodness of your fellow human beings, Rahne.”

“I think most people _are_ good, most of the time,” Rahne said. “It’s only when they’re hurt or get sick or in a lot of pain, they get mean.”

“I would like to believe that,” Jean said, as tears began to spill down her cheeks. 

“Can... can I be a wolf for you?” Rahne asked shyly. “Try and make you feel better?”

“I think I would like that very much,” Jean nodded, her voice breaking.

Rahne got up, quickly shrugged herself out of her pajamas, and removed her necklace, carefully placing it on the coffee table. Now completely naked, she clambered up onto the couch next to Jean, and laid her head in Jean’s lap. 

“Nobody but my girlfriend Dani has ever seen me change,” she confided.

“Would you rather I not look?”

“No, it’s okay. But if you’ve never seen it before, it can be a little weird.”

“I think I can handle a little weird,” Jean declared solemnly. 

Rahne relaxed her body, and a moment later, Jean found a large red wolf laying next to her, its head in her lap. 

“Oh. Oh, my,” Jean exclaimed, momentarily forgetting her tears. “You are a very beautiful wolf, Rahne. You really are.”

Jean leaned forward, pulling Rahne into a tight hug, running her fingers over her soft red coat. She exhaled raggedly, and as the tears began again, she petted Rahne gently, sitting in the darkness, watching as the embers of the fire slowly died out one by one.


	5. Chapter 5

Jean Grey came to with a start, realizing that for the first time in longer than she could remember, she’d actually fallen asleep. And not only that, it felt good. 

Groggily, she pushed herself up on one elbow. She was in the guest room at the annex. She had no memory of it, but obviously she had come back to the room at some point and crawled under the bedcovers before falling into a deep and unbroken sleep. The winter sun was shining brightly through the bedroom window, and the sky outside was a cloudless blue. 

There was no clock in the guest room, so she had no idea what time it was. But with the sun outside, she realized that she had probably overslept. She felt strangely calmed, momentarily emptied of all anger and sadness. Jean smiled. Maybe that sense of serenity was the lingering effect of the therapy wolf.

Slowly, Jean scooted herself up into a sitting position and looked around the room. There was no sign of Rahne. She must have gone back to her own room. Jean was about to telekinetically weave herself a set of pajamas when she thought better of it, got out of bed and padded into the bathroom for a long hot shower. 

A short time later, she came down the stairs wearing a powder-blue blouse, long dark skirt and suede boots, all of which she had blinked into existence moments before leaving her room. She paused as she passed the entrance to Hank’s study, then peeked inside. Hank was sitting at his desk, going over some papers which he was examining with an annoyed frown. Sensing he was being watched, he looked up and saw Jean, and his face broke into a wide smile.

“Well! Awake at last. You slept well, I trust.”

“I slept _great,”_ Jean assured him. “In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I needed or wanted sleep.”

“Perhaps your human nature is re-asserting itself,” Hank suggested. “Now that there’s no interstellar symbiont influencing your mutant powers - or your bodily functions.”

“I have absolutely no problems with that.” Jean stepped into the study. She regarded Hank thoughtfully for a moment, and then smiled. “Your head’s not buzzing any more.”

“No,” Hank agreed. “It seems you removed a thorn from my paw last night. And I’m very grateful.”

“I’m glad.” 

Jean regarded Hank carefully. This was one of those times when she was sorely tempted to read his thoughts, but she was reasonably certain that something in his emotional state - and her own - had changed, and for the better. 

“Sean and Moira will be back this afternoon,” Hank told her. “And they’ve both assured me, they have absolutely no issue with your being here.”

“That’s a relief,” Jean sighed. “Have you talked to Charles?”

Hank nodded. “He will probably come over to the annex first thing tomorrow morning. Now that the shock has worn off, and with my assurances that you are in complete control of your powers, he is very happy that you’re home. I suspect he’s just trying to come up with an appropriate apology.”

“The only apology I need from Charles Xavier is a hug. And then everything is forgiven,” Jean declared.

“In that case, might I take a similar liberty.”

Hank got up from his seat, and after a moment’s hesitation, took Jean into his arms. Jean welcomed the hug and returned it willingly. They stood together in mutual embrace for a very long time. 

“Hank, I’m so, so sorry about Raven,” Jean sighed mournfully. 

“Jean, it’s history. You’re forgiven. I forgive you anything, everything, unconditionally, always. Let that horrible day leave your mind. Never let it hurt you again.”

They released each other just enough to be able to look in each other’s eyes. Hank gave Jean a sorrowful smile.

“And I hope you might be willing to forgive a few unkind words spoken in pain last night.”

“Anything. Everything,” Jean gave his words back to him. “Unconditionally. Always.” 

She hugged him again, even tighter than before. “Are you going to be okay, though?”

“Yes,” Hank answered emphatically. “Yes, I am. Of course it still hurts. But I will live through it. It’s going to be okay, Jean. I’m going to be okay. As Illy is fond of saying, none of us gets through this life without acquiring a few scars.”

“That’s for sure,” Jean agreed solemnly.

“I understand you had a visit from the therapy wolf last night.”

“Rahne told you that?”

Hank grinned ruefully. “I think you’ll find, there aren’t many secrets in a school this size,” he allowed. “Rahne seems to think you should stay here indefinitely. And when she made that suggestion, I have to say, I was in complete agreement. My offer stands, Jean. Assuming that you and Scott decide you want to pursue it.”

Jean looked up into Hank’s face. All trace of his former pain was gone. The forgiveness she sought was plainly written there.

They hugged again, and Hank glanced at the wall clock. “However, right now you might want to think about getting yourself ready,” he told her. “Your young man is going to be here any minute, and I’m reasonably certain you won’t want to miss his arrival.”

Jean glanced up at the clock as well, and exclaimed, “Oh, shit! I _did_ oversleep!”

She was about to race for the door, halted herself mid-step, turned back and kissed Hank on the cheek. “I love you, Hank McCoy.”

“And I love you, Jean. Go on. Please greet Scott for me.”

Jean hurried from the house and ran down the long drive towards the gate, creating a winter coat for herself out of thin air as she went. The air was mild and the sun was warm, and most of the remaining snow was quickly melting - which also meant the dirt road and all the footpaths around the house were rapidly turning into rivers of mud. 

Jean reached the gate and waited anxiously. But after only a few minutes, her ill-concealed impatience was rewarded by the drone of a motorcycle engine. Her heart fluttered as Scott Summers came around the corner into view. Even from this distance, she could see that he was whooping with joy at the sight of her. 

He came up to the gate, practically leapt off the motorcycle and gathered her into his arms. They kissed passionately. 

“Oh, my God,” Scott wept. “Jean. I never thought I was going to see you again.”

Jean kissed him again. “I promised you, I would always come back to you.”

“I know. But when I thought you’d died... I lost all hope.”

“I didn’t die. But I _did_ get lost.” Another kiss. “I found my way home.”

It was several moments before they stepped back to properly take a look at one another. Scott was easily ten years older since the last time Jean had seen him, but still young, handsome and muscular. Scott was obviously, completely smitten with her - but then he grimaced ruefully.

“Sorry. I just got road mud all over you.”

“Oh, really, Scott,” Jean scoffed. “Like that’s a problem.”

She gestured with one hand, and the mud that had seeped into their clothes lifted away and splattered against the wet ground. 

“Well, that’s handy,” Scott nodded, suitably impressed.

“Isn’t it?” Jean grinned. “You’ll find I’m very handy in all sorts of ways.”

“Oh, I have no doubt of that.”

“Come on,” Jean invited him, taking his arm. “Everybody’s waiting to meet my future husband.”

Scott’s mouth fell open in delighted surprise. “Your future...?”

“My husband,” Jean repeated, kissing him. “My husband, my husband.”

She repeated the phrase over and over, kissing him each time, and each time she said it, the words carried a greater significance: a hope, a promise, a desire, a vow. A declaration of the deepest commitment. An exhalation of the purest joy.


	6. Chapter 6

For the second time in as many days, Jean Grey awoke in the guest bedroom of the annex, after having fallen asleep. This time, however, she awoke to a sense of great joy and contentment, a radiant well-being she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Also, she wasn’t alone in her bed. Her lover, Scott Summers, was fast asleep beside her. Realizing she needed to use the bathroom - something else she’d rarely needed to do, while conjoined with that strange alien power - she reluctantly slipped from the bed and tiptoed away. 

When she returned a few minutes later, Scott was stirring, and automatically reaching for his glasses on the nightstand. Jean slipped back into bed, and rolled on her side so she could face him. 

“Good morning,” she grinned at him, even though his eyes were closed and he couldn’t possibly see her. 

Scott smiled at the sound of her voice. “Good morning.”

He started to raise the glasses to his face, but Jean caught his hand. “You don’t need those,” she assured him. 

“Whoa, whoa, Jean, what are you doing?”

“It’s okay, Scott. I’ve got you. Go ahead. Open your eyes.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Hesitantly, Scott blinked furiously, then opened his eyes all the way. His eyes still had a faint glow of his mutant power, but his optic blasts were entirely contained.

“Oh, that’s better,” Jean decided, smiling radiantly at him. 

“Man... it still amazes me that you can do that,” he said admiringly.

“I just like looking at your face,” Jean said, leaning in to kiss him. 

When she leaned back, she gave him a wistful smile. “I want to have a child with you,” she declared in a whisper-soft voice. “A daughter, with my red hair and your beautiful smile.”

“We might have taken care of that yesterday,” Scott pointed out, and Jean smiled.

“Maybe. My body... the rhythms... everything still feels just a little bit off.”

Scott frowned in concern. “Maybe that thing inside you isn’t dead after all.”

“No, it’s gone, I’m sure of that. But my body is still working its way back to normal. I _do_ feel more normal every day, though. More human.”

She kissed him again.

“Did you see a little girl in our future?” Scott asked, curious.

Jean shook her head. “I can’t see the future any more, Scott. And I don’t mind telling you, I’m glad that power is gone. That was just...” she shuddered involuntarily. “Nobody should ever see that.” She forced herself to smile. “I’d rather concentrate on building our future. And definitely, children are part of that. Besides... you’ve been waiting ten years to have a child with me. That’s too long to wait. We need to make up for lost time.”

“Whatever you want,” Scott declared, and they shared another long kiss. 

“Not to be a killjoy, but we’re going to need to get up soon, or we’ll miss breakfast,” she murmured, letting her fingertips glide down Scott’s chest.

Scott groaned in dismay. “So, let’s skip breakfast.”

“Yeah. I think we’ve been rude enough already,” Jean grinned at him. “I no sooner introduced you to everyone, then we promptly hid ourselves away up here for the rest of the day.”

“Hey, that was _your_ idea, too,” Scott retorted. “Our ten year reunion. Remember?”

“True,” Jean admitted. “But... we missed lunch. And dinner,” she reminded him. “And since Charles is coming over this morning, the very least we can do is go downstairs and greet everyone.”

“The other thing we need to decide before we go downstairs is, what’s our response to Hank’s offer?”

“What do you think?” Jean tossed the question back at him. “I’ve been trying to picture it in my head. Do we want to wake up in this same room, every day, for the next ten years, then go downstairs to work with a group of kids who haven’t learned how to use their mutant powers?”

“Do you think we could still be here, ten years from now?” Scott asked. “Is that possible? Is that likely?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Jean admitted. “But, say we stay. If we do our jobs right, then all the students who are here now - Dani, Rahne, everyone else - they likely graduate in the next couple of years, and move on with their lives. And maybe new, different students come in. Or maybe no students come in at all, and the annex gets closed. And at that point, do we move to the main campus? Or do we move on to something else entirely?” She made a face. “And will Hank still keep his offer open to us, if we declare our intention to have a child as soon as possible?”

“See? That power of precognition could come in real handy right about now.”

“Please don’t even joke about that, Scott. That power was downright scary.” She reached for his hand under the bedcovers. “I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“I need this.” She held up their joined hands, fingers entwined. “Even though I’m no longer being influenced by... whatever that force was, it still amplified my powers way past anything I’m used to. And it can get really... _trippy_... sometimes. I need things that tether me to the world, to reality. The more, the better. So, I need you to touch me. Hold me. Kiss me. Caress me. When we walk together, take my hand.” She squeezed his tightly. “Give me those constant reminders that I’m a human woman, and that I walk in the human world. I need you to be my anchor, Scott. Hold me here.”

“That’s a promise. No way am I ever losing you again.”

“Good.” She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Come take a shower with me,” she coaxed, her voice full of lust. 

“Oh, that’s definitely making us late for breakfast,” Scott chuckled.

“We can be late,” Jean assured him. “As long as we make it.” She paused. “I have a name picked out,” she confided shyly.

Scott grinned. “I thought you might.”

“Rachel.” She whispered the name in his ear. “Her name is Rachel.”

* * * 

There was a festive holiday atmosphere in the annex kitchen that morning. Everyone was home for the first time in several days, and today they also had guests: Scott and Jean, as well as Charles Xavier. It was close to bedlam with so many people crowded around the kitchen and the dining table. Even with the leafs added, the dining table would only seat ten; Sam and Roberto had volunteered to dine in the living room at the bar table so that everyone else could sit together.

Amara was busy putting out the place settings. As she did so, she took each plate, held it in her hands for several seconds, frowning in concentration; finally, she set it down and moved on to the next one. Sam watched her do this for a few moments and finally came over. “What are you doing?” he asked, baffled.

“Warming the plates.” Amara gave him a sheepish smile. “Berto always says, the food stays warmer longer if the plates have been warmed. And I thought this might be a good way for me to practice controlling my power at the lowest possible setting. Just enough to warm things up without changing into my lava form. Here, see what you think.”

She held out one of the plates to him. Sam took it. The ceramic was noticeably and agreeably warm, just this side of hot. He smiled at her.

“That’s really smart,” he said appreciatively. “I would never have thought to do that.”

Amara practically glowed at Sam’s praise. “Thanks,” she said shyly.

Sean, Moira, Hank and Charles had gathered at one end of the table. Charles, of necessity, was sitting at the head of the table as it was one of the few places where he could easily roll his wheelchair. He kept glancing upwards at the stairwell nervously.

Hank chuckled. “Relax, Charles. Scott and Jean both promised they’d join us this morning. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they’re a little late.”

“I suppose they did need a private reunion of their own,” Charles agreed.

“Well, from Scott’s perspective, and ours, Jean’s been gone almost ten years. From hers, she was only gone maybe two months. But definitely long enough for both of them to feel that absence keenly.”

“And Jean’s really been all the way to the center of this arm of the galaxy?”

Hank shrugged. “That’s what she claims. I have no reason to doubt her. But wherever she’s been, she obviously wants to come home, and stay here.” He gave Charles an appraising look. “I take it you wouldn’t have any objections if Scott and Jean remained here, at the annex.”

“None whatsoever.”

“That’s assuming, of course, they still want to stay. Now that they’ve had a chance to talk, they might decide to make their own arrangements.”

At that moment, Jean and Scott finally came down the stairs.

“Good morning, everyone,” Jean greeted them all warmly. “Sorry if we’re late.”

Seeing Charles, Jean immediately hurried over to him, knelt down beside his wheelchair and hugged him tightly. 

“Jean... I...” Charles Xavier tried to speak, but Jean shushed him.

“Hush,” she murmured. “I don’t need your words, Charles. Literally the only thing I need is for you to hold me and say you’re happy to see me.” Huge tears spilled down her cheeks. “Your daughter’s come home,” she said brokenly. “Please welcome me home.”

“Welcome home, Jean,” Charles said, his own voice breaking as well. “I am so very happy to see you.”

The two of them held each other tightly, and wept freely. After several moments, Jean pulled back slightly, not quite leaving his embrace. She took one of his hands in hers and clasped it tightly. 

“You and I are going to rebuild our friendship, Charles,” she vowed fiercely, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “And this time, it will be unbreakable, and it will last both our lifetimes. Its foundation is the love we feel for each other, and complete forgiveness. I love you, Charles Xavier. And for any harm, any wrong, we have ever done to each other, I forgive your part of it.” She hugged him again. “I love you, Charles,” she whispered hoarsely. “And I forgive you. I love you and I forgive you.”

They sat together and wept for several minutes. When Jean finally looked up, she was chagrined to discover everyone had stopped what they were doing, and stood staring at them, many with sympathetic tears in their eyes. 

“And we’re making a dreadful spectacle of ourselves, Charles,” she murmured, kissing his forehead. “Sorry, everybody. Didn’t mean for that to be such a display.”

“It’s quite all right, Jean,” Moira assured her. “Welcome home, child.”

Jean then shared similar hugs with Moira and Sean, and some semblance of normal activity returned to the kitchen. A few moments later, everyone sat down to breakfast, and for Jean, this felt like the homecoming she had longed for and dreamed of, finally reunited with her family - she felt like she was literally swimming in joy.


	7. Chapter 7

“Is it true? Are you staying?”

Rahne Sinclair came running up to Jean Grey, her face alight with expectation.

Jean hesitated a moment before replying, but then smiled warmly. “It’s true, Rahne.”

“Yay!” Rahne threw her arms around Jean in a rib-crushing bear hug. For someone so tiny, she was surprisingly strong. “I’m so glad you want to stay with us!”

Jean returned the hug, and waited tolerantly for the young girl to release her. When she finally did, Jean put a finger to her lips.

“That needs to be our secret, at least for the next hour,” she admonished. “Professor McCoy will announce the news to everyone later this morning, just before Professor Xavier goes back to the main campus.” 

“Okay,” Rahne bobbed her head emphatically.

Jean gave her an appraising smile. “How did you hear about this, anyway?”

Rahne made a face. “Okay, the first thing you need to know about us is, everybody snoops.”

“Ah.”

“Illy does it most, and she does it best, but really, we all do it.”

“Well, snooping’s not very nice, you know,” Jean admonished gently.

“Yeah, but we can’t read minds like you can,” Rahne pointed out. “We have to find things out other ways.”

“Fair enough,” Jean conceded, and then she smiled. “Actually, I should thank you. You were the one who convinced me to stay.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Jean took a seat on the couch, and invited Rahne to sit beside her, which she immediately did. “You pointed out to me, this is a place of healing. A place where mutants traumatized by use of their powers can go to get better. And... I think this is a place where I can get better, too,” she nodded thoughtfully. “So, thank you, for that lovely suggestion.”

“You’re welcome,” Rahne answered, obviously overawed that she had any influence with someone as supremely awesome as Jean Grey. “Do I have to start calling you Miss Grey now?”

Jean shook her head, smiling. “No. ‘Jean’ will do just fine. I’m not a professor, Rahne, just a teaching assistant.”

“Not to us, you’re not,” Rahne declared. “You’re a...” she searched for the right word. “You’re a mentor.”

“Well, thank you. That’s sweet of you to say. I don’t think of you as just my student, either,” she said in a confidential tone. “You’re a friend. And a very good one.”

Tears welled in Rahne’s eyes, overwhelmed at such praise.

“After all, we redheads have to stick together, right?” Jean grinned.

“Right!” 

Rahne hugged Jean again, and not only did Jean return the hug, she left a tender kiss on Rahne’s forehead. 

“And besides... I couldn’t possibly leave. Where else in the world am I going to find my very own personal therapy wolf?”

* * * 

Hank McCoy, Scott Summers and Charles Xavier were gathered in Hank’s study, and Charles was absolutely beaming with delight.

“Scott, I can’t tell you how happy I am, that you’re finally back with us.”

“I’m glad to be home,” Scott admitted. “Honestly, Professor, even if Jean hadn’t shown up, I was trying to work up the courage to call you.”

“Well, we’re certainly glad Jean showed up, then.”

“No one’s happier than me,” Scott declared, and then he expression sombered. “I’m sorry, Professor. I didn’t want to leave the school, not really. It’s just with Jean gone...”

“You were trying to deal with something intolerable,” Xavier said gently. “We all were.”

“I had to get away. Just take some time to myself, sort things out.”

“Scott, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” Charles glanced over at his former pupil. “Henry, I’m hoping you have no unresolved issues with Jean, since she and Scott are now going to be living under the same roof with you.”

Hank smiled somberly. “We’re fine, Charles. Yes, we talked. We’ve had our heart-to-heart. I hold her blameless. What happened was tragic. But we’re going to move past it. Together.”

“I’m very glad to hear it.” He paused. “We all miss her, you know.”

“I know,” Hank sighed. “Every one of us had our lives transformed by Raven. She changed each of us as surely as she could change herself. There will never be anyone like her, ever again.”

“Perhaps not. But I’d like to suggest that it’s not out of the realm of possibility for you to find someone who could be as important to you as Raven once was.”

Hank gave Charles a blank look for a moment, and then snorted. “Charles, I’m sixty years old.”

“And likely to live another twenty years, at least,” Charles pointed out. “All I’m suggesting, Henry, is don’t leave that door closed. As long as the door remains open... the possibilities remain.”

“You’re right, of course.”

“Excuse me, Professor?” Illyana Rasputin peeked around the doorway. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I thought you might be alone. I can come back later.”

“It’s all right, Illy, come in, please, we’re done here,” Hank assured her. 

Charles gave Hank a knowing smile, and pivoted his chair towards the door. “Henry, we’ll see you in the living room in a few minutes.”

“Of course, Charles. And... thank you.”

Scott went out first, and as Xavier wheeled past Illyana, he gave her a conspiratorial wink. 

“Give him hell,” he whispered to her. 

Illyana grinned broadly. “I always do,” she assured him. 

She shut the doors behind Xavier, and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Hank’s desk. 

“What’s on your mind, Illy?” Hank asked.

“I just wanted to say... you were right to yell at me,” Illyana began. “I know when you told us to stay home, you were just trying to keep us safe. I should have listened and did as you said. I’m sorry.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Hank replied. “And I suppose I owe you an apology as well. I needed to reprimand you, yes, but I could have done so a little less sharply.”

“It’s okay. It’s not every day you meet someone who’s come back from the dead.”

“That’s certainly true enough,” Hank conceded.

“I just wanted to say, I need you to keep doing that. You’re my guardrail, Professor, you and Doctor MacTaggert. I know I’m probably never going to be someone who can function in the normal world,” Illyana sighed. “But I _can_ function in this one. This is as close as I ever got to not thinking like a demon, and start thinking like a person. I don’t want to screw this up.”

“You’re not ‘screwing this up’, Illy. And I think you’re not giving yourself nearly enough credit. You’ve actually shown remarkable progress of late - despite some occasional lapses in judgment.”

“I guess... all I really need to know is that you’re not going to give up on me. This is the only place where I have any chance of being human again. And I’m close, Professor, I’m _so_ close, I can feel it. So, yeah. Yell at me if you have to. But don’t kick me out. I couldn’t handle that. I really couldn’t.”

“Illy, there is no possibility of you being expelled. None,” Hank said firmly. “Please put any such notion out of your mind. This isn’t just your school. It’s your home. And we expect you to stay, as long as you need to.” He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “You’re far closer to functioning in the ‘normal world’, as you call it, than you think. I will grant that some of your more charming personality traits do give me a few grey hairs,” he admitted. “But one day, you are going to make a remarkable contribution to this world, Illyana Rasputin. I know you will. And I’m very much looking forward to that day.” He fixed her with a somber smile. “We will never give up on you,” he vowed. “You will always have a home here, Illy. And a family.”

Illyana digested this silently for a moment, but actual tears were welling in her eyes. 

“Thank you, Professor,” she said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Now, if there’s nothing else, why don’t you go join everyone in the living room,” Hank suggested gently. “I’ll be along in just a few moments.”

“Okay.”

Illyana got up and left the room. 

A few moments later, Jean Grey came to the door. “Excuse me, Professor. We finally have all the cats herded. This is as close to an opportunity as you’re going to get to address everyone at one time.”

Hank grinned. “Thank you, Jean. I’ll be right there.”

* * * 

A few moments later, Hank walked into the living room, and it was just as overcrowded as the kitchen had been earlier that morning.

“Well, any more warm bodies in here, and we’ll need a shoehorn,” Hank declared. “Thank you, everyone, for this gathering. I have a few announcements to make regarding the future of the school, things that will directly impact all of you, so I wanted you to hear this from me. First, I’d like to like to introduce Jean Grey and Scott Summers,” he gestured towards the couple. “I believe most of you have met one or both of them already. Jean and Scott are going to join the faculty here at the annex. They’ll begin as teaching assistants, and after we’ve sufficiently broken them in...” he grinned at them. “They will eventually become full faculty members at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”

There were whoops and cheers from all of the students. Hank smiled tolerantly at the interruption. 

“Jean and Scott will begin their duties here at the annex immediately. Now, several of you have expressed interest to me about combat training. Now, with the understanding that none of you are training to become X-Men... _yet_...” Hank paused for emphasis. “We also understand that there are many hostile mutants out there who won’t necessarily discriminate between an X-Man and a non-combatant mutant. So, in the interests of teaching you self-defense, Jean and Scott will begin training with you in mock combat situations, with an emphasis on working together as a team, as you have already clearly declared yourselves to be one.”

“This is _awesome,_ Professor!” Roberto shouted, unable to contain himself.

Hank grinned. “Thank you, Roberto, I wasn’t finished. But your sentiment is appreciated.” After a few scattered chuckles around the room, Hank continued. “Most of your additional training will take place here, at the annex. However, Professor Xavier has graciously allowed us access to the Danger Room at the main campus, so once I’ve had some time to prepare, we’ll also take some field trips over there, where you’ll take part in more elaborate combat simulations. The rest of your curriculum, of course, will not change, and Doctor MacTaggert and I will continue to conduct your regular core classes, as we have been doing. And now, I think Jean and Scott have an announcement of their own they’d like to make.”

“Thanks, Professor.” Jean felt suddenly tongue-tied, with all eyes on her. She remained seated, but she and Scott clasped hands while she spoke. “Scott and I are really excited about this opportunity, and we’re really looking forward to working with all of you. Everyone here at Xavier’s is family to us, and we’re both so glad to finally be home. We did kind of take the long way ‘round.”

She squeezed Scott’s hand tightly.

“The only other thing we want you to know right now is...” she glanced up at Scott standing over her shoulder, and he grinned at her. “We’re getting married. We haven’t worked out any of the details yet, but, when we do, we want you to know you’ll all be invited to the wedding.”

At that, there were many enthusiastic cheers and even a round of applause. 

“Finally, on a personal note,” Hank chuckled, “I just want to thank you, Jean, Scott, for being so willing to be thrown into the fire like this. I had no objections to the students doing this sort of training before... but, while I may still have the physique of The Beast, frankly, I’ve gotten a little too old for this sort of thing. It will be nice to have someone here who can actually keep up with the students.”

There were a smattering of chuckles around the room, mostly from the older faculty members. 

“Now, before you’re all dismissed for the afternoon, since we’re gathered here, does anyone have anything they’d like to bring up before the group?”

“We just want to say ‘welcome’ to Scott and Jean,” Dani said. “It’s going to be so awesome having you guys here to help us.”

“Yeah,” Roberto added. “The awesome dial just went all the way up to ‘11’.”

“We’ll see how you feel about that after the first week,” Scott chuckled. “Professor, if you don’t mind, Jean and I would like to take the students out to the practice field for a little while this afternoon. Just so we can get a proper look at what we’re dealing with.”

“Absolutely,” Hank nodded. “Be my guest.”

Scott turned to his new students. “You guys feel like showing off for us?”

“Are you kidding?” Berto snorted.

“We are _so_ ready for this!” Illyana exclaimed excitedly.

“All right, then, grab your gear, anything you need to be outside, Jean and I will join you out there in ten minutes.”

As the students left the room, Scott turned to Hank, Charles, Sean and Moira, and grinned at them. “Out of the frying pan...”

Charles Xavier beamed on his former students, and it was obvious he couldn’t possibly be any prouder. 

When Scott and Jean headed for the door a few minutes later, Scott reached for his boots, but Jean stopped him. 

“What? What is it?”

Jean was giving him one of her more enigmatic looks. But she was smiling broadly.

“Ten years,” she said, shaking her head. “You waited for me for _ten years.”_

“Well... yeah,” Scott nodded.

“I was supposed to be dead.”

“Hey, all I knew was, the most amazing and beautiful woman I’d ever met in my life promised she’d come back to me,” Scott protested. “When something like that happens to you, you wait. There really isn’t any other option.”

“You’re an idiot. A hopeless, romantic idiot.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Scott countered. “You’re here.”

“Yes, I am,” Jean conceded. “And if we didn’t have a new class of students to teach, and every eye in the house glued to us right now, I’d be ripping all your clothes off you.” She gave him a wolfish grin. “I think we can probably get away with a kiss, though.”

“Let’s find out.”

They kissed passionately. 

“It’s going to be a pleasure working with you, Mr. Summers,” Jean said with mock solemnity.

“The pleasure is all mine... Mrs. Summers,” Scott grinned. 

* * * 

“Okay, Sam, how does that feel? Not too tight?”

Scott was helping Sam adjust a new flight jacket, one that might help soften the impact of his landings. 

“No. Feels good. Doesn’t pinch anywhere.”

“Okay, then. We’ll try this gear for now. Once Jean and I have had a chance to see your powers up close, we can start working on ways to help you control your landings. But this should help keep you from getting too badly dinged up in the meantime.”

“Sounds good to me. Anything that helps, I’m all for it.”

“Moira tells me you’ve broken your arm and busted a couple of ribs doing this?”

“Well... when I’m actually using my power, I’m... what’s the word? Impervious?” Sam asked uncertainly, and Scott nodded. “The minute I stop, though, that’s when I’m in trouble.”

“Because you’re still going like a bottle rocket, but now the power’s switched off.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, lucky for you, Sam, Jean can slow you down, until we can figure out ways for you to slow yourself down safely.”

“Man, I am all for that.”

Scott took a step back. All of the other students, plus Jean, were standing nearby, waiting patiently. Jean was wearing a dark combat suit, similar to the old trainee uniforms, which she had conveniently blinked into existence just before leaving the house. 

“All right, you guys, listen up,” Scott told them. “We’re gonna play a little game that the students at Xavier’s used to call, ‘Take your best shot’. I presume I don’t need to explain the rules to you, mostly because there aren’t any. This is your chance to cut loose, and I mean _cut loose._ Don’t hold anything back. The first thing Jean and I need to see, before we can help you, is what you can really do. So today is definitely not the day to be shy.”

“Do we get any kind of reward or prize, if we knock you down?” Roberto laughed. 

“Oh, it’s not me you’re knocking down today,” Scott told him. He pointed to Jean. “It’s _her.”_

Jean grinned at Scott, then spread her arms wide. Her body began to rise up out of the snow - and she began to glow as if generating her own light. Her bright red hair seemed to catch fire, and then the fire surrounded her, sculpting itself into the shape of a giant bird. 

Jean looked down at her new students, all of them steeling themselves for their first test: Roberto and Amara, glowing dark and light in their fully realized mutant forms; Sam, with his hands and feet trembling, ready to unleash his explosive power; Dani, crouched beside Rahne in her wolf form, her teeth bared, snarling in challenge; and Illy, sword drawn, ready for battle. 

“All right, students,” she told them. “Class is now in session.” 

She smiled at them all. 

“Show me what you’ve got.”


End file.
